Let's talk DS. More importantly, let's talk DS cover art. I have a DS game I will never use, see. It's called Monster Trucks DS (I couldn't find it in the database! Someone be top men!). I know what you're thinking, why the FUCK would I buy that game? You're not wrong, I wouldn't. In fact while buying a DS at Future shop [ Best Buyfor the Canadian Impaired ] I was just given this game for free. The funny thing is, I was trying to not take it from them. BUT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE IT. They game it to me anyway whether I liked it or not. It's weird getting my arm twisted over free stuff.
Needless to say I never played it, but I also took it about of the case and I don't know where it is. So what is a girl to do? Well I have a DS card with no home that I always seem to be loosing, and an Empty DS case. Naturally I'm going to put the two together. But instead of using boring hum-drum Monster Trucks DS cover art, I'm opting to have fun with it and come up with something more special.
Years and years back, an art designer friend and I came up with a brilliant idea for a Flower Arranging game on the DS. Tending flowers in a Green room would have made for an interesting experience. But my favorite part was that we came up with ideas for two different versions, kind of like how there's two different versions of Pokemon(Diamond/Pearl, Black/White, Yellow/Double Yellow) It was a fun an interesting project, and we brainstormed the hell out of it.
Can you see where I'm going with this? I made a mock-up of a video game cover and I'm going to print it out and put it in it's case. Want to see it? I bet you do! People already have, but now's your chance! Right now! Right here! This exact moment! It's showtime!
It seems as though the theme of the past week has been 'hyper sensitivity' or feminism or sexism or maybe even attentionism. Whatever the case may be, I will happily segue from Feminism/sexism to talk about how big of a dick I am. Or, Giant Penis if you will. (Fact: Bon backwards is Nob) Xeiphyer has it right to assume that I probably look like this: I always pictured Mara to be a really nice guy. He'll give you a ride on his Golden Chariot, tuck you into bed and read you a story. I guess the moral of this one is, that this whole being a dick thing over the internet is a really easy thing to fall into. Even if you're joking around, there's always going to be that one person who's going to rub you/be rubbed the wrong way. I blame myself for being sarcastic on a constant.
But when that happens, you take it in stride. Because this is the internet. It's not a war zone, there's no factions. You're all just a bunch of people sitting in front of computers, and it's not an 'alternative to your life' either (Gee, I hope nope anyway). So at the end of the day when your feelings are hurt, you turn it off and go outside. Or I guess in this case, play a game! I suggest Tetrisfriends.com(I play it a lot! super fun!)
But I don't know too much about being a nice person, so don't take my advice.
TL;DL
There's a thing going around called a podcast and it's something a group of us have been meaning to do in a long time. TL;DL is such a podcast, and it's not exactly some kind of regularly scheduled podcast as of late. We're clearly not in it for the fame. Much more for the documented Evidence that we talk about stuff and things. We also clearly have the mind set, that when we want to do it, we'll just go and do it. And if there's anyone else around us that feels they need to join, they can go right ahead. So if you want to catch if for yourself here's the link http://rapidshare.com/files/445893532/TL_DL001.mp3 Get it while it's hot! (Which was like.. two weeks ago)
[ The high five is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand, about head high, and push, slide or slap the flat of their palm and hand against the palm and flat hand of their partner. The gesture is often preceded verbally by the phrase "Give me five" or "High five" . ]
There's a strange, delusional confidence that Sony always seems to have with their gaming products. From being “Not (Red)E” to creepy babies, it (for me anyway) feels uncomfortably out of touch. They make a big expensive product and go for the least likely demographic. But I don't know... do they know what they're going for? Let's say a group of children are all playing Red Rover outside. Then the ice-cream man rolls around selling his product. All the children gather around wanting a cone, but the ice-cream man decides he's only going to sell to the cool kids. And what does that mean? Maybe one or two of the children get to have some ice-cream but that's only because they're rich. Sure the other children are all pouty at first but then they realize that they already have better ice-cream at home. And the Man's ice-cream was probably laced with (Red)E. (I'm trying to draw parallels to the concept video, IS IT WORKING?)
I want to get excited about the NGP. So much so, that I recently podcasted about it with 7 other people. They have from now till E3 to get me excited, but the 3DS already won my heart so I guess they shouldn't even try? Either way, I'm sitting here thinking about it, and I really have no need for 3G.
Now I'm going to try and Segue into Lunchboxes.
LUNCHBOXES YOU SAY? In the chat, there were a lot of strange tangents popping up, and one of them had to deal with lunchboxes. Sleepy Insomniac mentioned his game related ones. Upon hearing ' Fallout Lunchbox' I exclaimed That I had one too, and proceeded to tell him I was even saving up bottle caps for whenever the apocalypse decides to happen: There are 90 bottle caps. I think I can get more than enough stimpaks with this at least.
So what were we playing this weekend kids? I'm Still on the Dragon Quest IX as expected, I haven't been able to put it down for the past couple of weeks, and it continues to be the same thing it was when I first mentioned it. One of the neat things I guess, is that I finally got access to this Wifi Enabled store for the game. Which going to it, gives me access to rare items, new quests and Special Guests popping up and hanging out in their own rooms at the Inn, in Stornway (Quester's Rest, I think it's called). I assume all these characters are from previous Dragon Quests, but I only recognize Torneko, Angelo and King Trode.
What do they do? Share a bit of dialogue and give you some clothing, which doesn't sound like much but they're pretty stylish and high in defense so I feel like I don't have to worry too much about buying some equipment for a while. ALL MY PARTY MEMEBERS LOOK SO PRETTY.
Bullet pointz
Weeks, away and MvC3 is about to pop it's head in, are you excited? I'm excited! Hell, even my girlfriend is excited! Does she play fighting games? I don't know, but that's pretty awesome.
I'm curious for myself and would want to make a list, about which games are the ones you can't really consider to be beaten. You know what I'm talking about? Puzzle games, Board games, most fighting games I guess, Harvest moon? If you want you can help me out and drop a suggestion of a game you think is something that can't really be 'beat'.
PS3 dead, I'm at a loss every time I turn on the 360, because I know games I'd rather be playing right now.
I'm gonna just throw this out here. Say, you have a building, and in this building is a large company of people that are really into this product that they have, they cherish it, embrace it, maybe even go a little too far with it. Ok, but then over time, People get apathetic an loose interest in said product without really knowing any way to revitalize it. Then every once in a while, you get the guy that thinks things need to be done, so he goes home, grabs his soap box and sets it up outside the building... maybe even across the street. He just starts complaining and complaining. The only problem is, the people in the building can't hear him and have no idea what he's talking about, but the people outside get 'it' even less and are under the impression that they don't want to have anything to do with whatever is going on in that building. You see what I'm saying?(Passive aggressive enough?)
I already blogged like a dorky little idiot about the 3DS on my actual blog. (that video about the ins-and-outs of the 3DS, and little blurbs about the games I'm interested in.) So for me to say anything here will be redundant. But I will say this: 3DS? Yes please. Portable gaming is my jam. Sure it's inevitable that you will see another iteration of the 3DS at some point in one or two years, and people get all pouty over it's battery life. But these arguments are invalid! THE TIME IS NOW!
$250 is a bit pricey I guess, but with the amount of tech thrown into that thing, I understand / can and will just buy the damn thing, but who's to say that the system won't be bundled with any kind of thing to show off the 3DS. But come June a lot of the A-game will pop up. What are you guys looking forward to for 3DS games?
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
This is what he does to Adventure. Friday I picked up this little gem. A lot of people old enough would know what I'm talking about. At the same time, Little Nemo: Dream master may be anyone's only ever experience of this title. But here we go, this is the Movie that the game is based off of, which is based off of the Little Nemo comics that appeared in the New York Herald between 1905 and 1914.
The beginning of the movie opened up like one of the old Strips, Nemo sleeps away, has a fucked up dream, falls out of bed, Parents are all “Don't eat before you go to sleep you dumb kid!” Which sets the tone for what you'll probably expect. Brilliant animation, Pretty good voice work all around as well. (with Mickey Rooney, being the only one I recognize.) This movie is all about Nemo being the New Prince of Slumberland and Play Buddy to the Princess, the cool place of cool dreams which basically looks like A high budget land run by cirque du soleil.
Things Quickly go awry though, as Nemo opens a door he shouldn't have, and Nightmare Tar gobbles up the King and Slumberland goes to shit. Then there is no hope, but it's up to Nemo to right his wrong! Save the King of Slumberland, Defeat the Nightmare King and wake up from his perpetual Nightmare.
What I've actually come out from watching this movie again is new appreciation to the old comic strips. I know of the characters in such a way that I now have a better understanding, the two compliment each other quite well. The old NES game though? I don't remember too much about it, but even though it's based off of the movie, there's something about it that feels a little more stand-alone. Not that it's a bad thing, Dream master is still a pretty decent game to play.
Go ahead though, and give this movie a watch. I was surprised on how well this movie still held up for me. In fact I'm happy I watched it again, it's renewed my interest in all things 'Little Nemo'.
[Fun fact: one of the characters is named 'Bon Bon' ur hurhurhurhurhur]
But this has kept my attention quite well. I've been loving the levels and everything. There's a bit of an issue I have with the control. Well I guess not the controls in general. I just dislike the idea that they need to have shake in their control scheme. I know, I know, it's the Wii. You can shake the controller and stuff happens. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a game breaker. In fact I'm having lots of fun, OF COURSE until I get to a mine cart stage. Then step aside fun and hello OH MY GOD WHY AM I DYING OVER THE STUPIDEST THINGS. I'm missing a couple of puzzle pieces here and there on a couple of stages that I know I don't have any real desire to go back to.
I will be continuing to play through this by myself though, because friends are giving me the look that they are too afraid to even try. But I guess I can't blame them, but in single player I do like the somewhat usefulness of Diddy being the Monkey on your back, prolonging your jumps and stretching out your rolling as long as you keep shaking that fucking controller.
Bah...
I almost forgot to mention how I'm really digging the soundtrack in this game. They have retouched versions of old songs from the original plus original tunes that are just as nice, or groovy if you will. Maybe I will grab the soundtrack for myself if it's around anywhere.
DRAGON QUEST IX
BATTLE! There will always be a time and a place for A Traditional JRPG. Seriously, There's no reason why some games have to change, and Dragon Quest is a pretty good example. I think it's comforting to know that I can always go back to a franchise and it will always be what it is ( To put it in other words) If that makes sense. I think there's a lot of complaining about games never changing, and I always hear about Japanese games being the most guilty. But there's a winning formula in familiarity. Whether you think so or not.
The thing I love the most about DQIX is that I'm immediately in my comfort zone. Run around, randomly battle things, level up, earn cash buy equipment fight boss, carry on. It's pretty much a by the numbers RPG like it's always been, but this is a good thing for a portable device. To grab something you can just pickup and play.
It's a shame that there's no real online to this game other than the form of a store to buy new equipment or quests. There would have been a lot more people playing this game together. I don't personally know anyone else that owns this game. And nobody really runs around with their DS's in tag mode. Maybe the 10 game in the series will really go furthur with online playing or co-op of some sort. Perhaps, if they stick to the formula We could have a Dragon Quest MMO, that will probably be programmed by Korea, because that's a winning idea right there.|
I do look like being able to make my own party memebers. Even the fact that I can make a lot more and can swap people in and out. My crew is pretty much my band members from Rockband 3, including my favorite character I love to keep making. (Facegurl)
Isn't Knuckles supposed to be protecting this island? From what I've been playing so far it's a pretty easy game, I kept hearing about it being hard. Maybe that was only in Japan. Maybe the difficulty will pick up I'm not sure. The fact that I'm grinding my levels is probably helping to this being so easy. I'd be a lot more better off grinding at the beginning of the game than paying for it early on.
But you know, perhaps I'm into Dragon Quest a lot more now than I was becuase Final Fantasy is losing it's appeal. Which could be right. FF wants to be different every time, and Dragon Quest strikes me as the kind of series that is confident in itself. At it's original price of 40$ it was pretty much a steal, yet when I finally got around to picking it up it was 30$. That pretty much means this game is a steal!
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It's late, I never really give myself anytime time to do blogging whatsoever (over here) but I'm not tired and I find myself with nothing to do. So let's just get this over with!
The last time I wrote all about GOTY stuff, I didn't really give it much attention. But I basically talk about how AWESOME Nier is, and how terrible Limbo is. but 2010 is in the past and PixelPrinny has talked about Nier enough, so you don't need to here it from me! (other than how I should remind you that Nier is the best game Squenix could muster all 2010. Which some people would say isn't much, but I was pretty much on board.)
Since the Christmas Break is over, I find myself in front of a large stack of games I need to play. Or, what I like to call "The games I need to get out of my system before I dedicate a whole day to Vanquish." Which is a small list so far. I knocked out "Playing Rockband 3 with the keyboard" in 10 minutes, I know I'll go back to that one, because I love playing the keyboard.
[ Before I continue though, obviously, the great thing about the Keyboard is that it's midi, and I can use it for other things, I know there's the official Rockband midi keyboard adapterydoo (I know that's not what they're called) but I can't really find them. So I guess I'm going to have to resort to finding it online. But if then, could I find something non Rockband official that'll still work awesome? does anyone know what to look for? Hamst3r? ]
Then low and Behold, I have Hot Pursuit to my disposal. PS3 version. It's an excellent game for the most part, those 'don't touch anything' time trials are a real downer though. I've done more cop levels then Racer levels. which is really weird to me Considering I don't really like doing the cop stuff as much as I thought I would. But it's still a good time, there's a bunch of pallies I'm yet to get together with to do some online, but from what I've seen of that so far, is actually pretty solid. I do have a bit of a competitive angst when it comes to this game though, and I don't think the Autolog helps when it constantly reminds me which friends are doing better that me on anything. I was hoping to just do the minimum all the time, but apparently the 'minimum' isn't good enough.
Then I rage for a bit...
One of the things I was definitely hoping for was a smooth transition of my Playlist I made for Paradise, to this game. Turns out, totally different feel with the game. Really makes me want to tweek my soundtrack. (Although I love opening the game on the 'Alpha Beta Gaga (Mark Ronson Vocal Remix)' ) So I turn to what I've been listening to a lot lately. Which happens to be the music from Nier. Well, I guess not just any music. The soundtrack is great and all but If there was anything I could really take away from the DLC was all the remixed Tracks on it. It's possible I like this game a little too much.
But it also turns out that some Music from Neon Genesis Evengelion is pretty cool too! ... When you're a cop.
Assssiiiiide from that, I've actually put a fair amount of time into 3D Dot Game Heroes. Yes, of course, it's very 8-bit Zelda in a crazy 3D world. So it already gets points, even though at this point that makes it pretty generic! Old Evil Threat is being threatened to show up and be a jerk again, so it's up to you to be a descendant of the hero of old and go through all the crap he went through just to do the same thing he did.
As I said though, gameplay wise it's alright. Before when it was first coming out and everything, I really had a problem with the graphical style, it was un-comprehensibly ugly to me and it still is actually. I'm sitting here playing it, trying to think of a way I can make it all look better, while still trying to keep it's style in tact and nothing is coming up. Plus I really question the humor in this game a little bit. I don't want to rag on it, really. But there's bee a lot of instances where I feel like the humor in this game very played out, or completely unnecessary. I did stop a play run shortly after 'REPEATEDLY STABBING A WOMAN' which was supposed to be innuendo for sex.
I'm still going to play through it, I mean if have to if the game gave me a trophy for playing the game for 5 hours already. I feel like I have 5 hours left to go. So.. yeah.
Thanks to the Tetris Quick look, and Mention of Tetris Friends I've all of a sudden got a Tetris bug again. It's fun to play, especially against other people. (THIS SHIT SHOULD BE ESPORTS OMGSEEYOUINVEGAS!) the higher in rank you go the more it feels like people rely on the use of items to win. Which is a downer, and does take a bit of the fun out if you're playing with at least 5 other people. Even with five other people you could be in danger of getting a barrage of lines and losing instantly. Which, let's be honest isn't fun, but that's how it is sometimes. And if people want to use that as their strategy to beat me, then I guess I'm going to have to suck it up, like a princess.
[BTW, if you have an account there, and feel you want to add me, I'll let you guess what my username is..]
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Square Enix hasn't exactly been the company they used to be lately. If anything they're the one Japanese company that has probably wanted to 'appeal' to the Western market 'the most'. Since then, they've made weird decisions with franchises like Final Fantasy and Front Mission. FFXIII being a BAD(see: terrible horrible)GAME and Front Mission being a poor man's arcadey Armoured Core. Dissidia being a Wonderful idea yet having it just for the PSP seems like a weird attempt to sell some portables, (I'm stoked for the 3 Birthday but again, would like to see it on a console proper) and Kingdom hearts being just another Franchise to milk completely.
I don't really know what's going on with them, but one title really does shine through for me, and I already know that a lot of people don't really care for it as well. Nier is such a title that manages to be compelling, not so much in it's game play and it's art direction, but for it's story. It's pretty well a cluster fuck in itself. From beginning to end it never tells you what it is and it just takes you for a ride. Sure it does have it's pacing issues and fishing seems to be a hurdle for some, enough to be a game breaker ( apparently). But it managed to keep me coming back for more. Characters like Kainé end up being quite sympathetic. There's also a lot more layers to scratch off the surface in the development of this cast, when everything is rewarded with more playthroughs. Yet the more times I sit there and play it, the more I question everything, but I always seem to find the answers I'm looking for.
It definitely has a way with words. The banter between characters, the forest, the things that pop up on your gamertag when your friends list looks at where you are in the game. It actually has quite the sense of humor for having such a serious tone. Which frankly is welcome, because if these characters weren't as well thought out as they were, and stories written as interesting as I could fathom, it could have been a completely broken experience and I would have never bothered to look at it.
I claim this to be Squenix's Sleeper hit. It's something that really shouldn't be missed especially if you have that overwhelming doubt for the company as of late. Guaranteed it's in the bargain bins by now, so you might as well go ahead and do yourself a service by picking it up!
(THIS? this is just music... another reason I like the game so gosh darn much.)
2010's 2009 GOTY, Assassin's Creed II! Seriously, I can't believe I put it off for as long as I did! Let me put it this way, I was a fan of the First game. Sure, it had it's faults and it was kind of slow and clunky, but the game was still a good time. Perhaps I always just loved the concept of free roaming, and it boasts such a free roaming edge!
Refined quite a lot from the first game, but not without it's faults! In fact, I still have a problem with how it streamlines it's parkouring. Perhaps if Ubisoft was going to be proud of it enough where they would make racing missions, then jumping around rooftops wouldn't be as touchy as it is. In the heat of the moment, the way you control isn't really going to agree with the game. You may (may) mess up a couple of times before you get it the way to want to.
Plus any game you're willing to S-Rank (even if it's easy to) has to be worth that much attention.
The OH SHIT, THIS GAME TOTALLY CAME OUT THIS YEAR award goes to YAKUZA 3. I know what you're thinking... “Dude, Bon! Mass Effect 2 came out this year Asshole! What's wrong with you.” and you're not wrong. But as good as ME2 was (let's face it, a lot of us love it to death) Vidiot Pretty much went out of his was to Platinum that shit. Really! Since it was Yakuza 3, and I was playing it at the same time, to me it feels significant enough to talk about here. This is a series, that needs a little more attention over here than it's getting. Japan? Loves this game to death, North America? Not so much, even if everyone and their dog complain about Sega never releasing it over here on time. Well even that's kind of not fair to mention, becuase the ones that do complain are always the Japanophiles.
The “If my girlfriend is playing it, and she's not even a gamer, this must be pretty awesome right?” award goes to, Bejeweled 3. I guess, that would be a no brainier, everyone can play a game of match three. But I too find myself losing time and playing this game for no reason. It's come out pretty late this year, but damned if I'm not going to talk about how cool it is. ( plus my entire family seems to be playing it now : / )
TEE HEE, It's my Desktop wallpaper. The “this game shouldn't be number one on your top 10 list, what the fuck is wrong with you” goes to Limbo. Sure it's got style, atmosphere, mood, whatever you need to call it. A fair amount of puzzles to keep it called a game, but not enough to sustain itself as a title worth your time. This game is a case of “wool over your eyes.” The aesthetic of it's old timey black and white film setting is nice at first and you really get the feel of it, but eventually the flame dies out and you realize there is nothing to this game. It's as if Braid was Flower. The pace of the puzzles was good, yet there was nothing to them and I breezed through (except for one, that I couldn't think about for some reason.) But then you make it to the end, and there's no pay off! It probably would have made more sense for the game to be a perpetual nightmare, I found myself in shock and awe thinking I was all the way at the beginning again. Until, of course I then found what the real ending was, in which case I just turned the game off and went somewhere else. Just, trying not to get mad, trying not to think about it.....
NOW, BULLSHIT CATEGORIES!
Game of the year every year: AFRIKA. Dood, you can turn that shit on for parties! SRSLY, TURN ON THE AFRIKA VIEWER.
2010's 2010 game but really feels like 2009 for some reason: Mass Effect 2. It came, it saw, it conquered but I sadly forgot about it when a plethora of other games came out.
The Press X to Jason Award: Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition. I know, this is a cop out. But this is a category I feel would be funnier if I awarded it to a different game. and you know, it's a lot more fun to play this game co-op and wait by the door to the next area calling out to your partner to keep moving LIKE AN ASSHOLE. Which is a lot more fun than being a desperate father.
Service dedicated to millions of shitty games, but I'd only play one: Game Room. sure, it's not the greatest idea, but there is the odd title that is decent and worth some time. Which, even then, you don't really need something like game room in the first place. But it also get Bonus points for being the most entertaining Quick Looks this year!... I just like retro gaming...
I spent the entire weekend(and then some) enjoying the fruit of my 26 birthday. Nobody shows up to the party, even my family forgets that this day only happens once a year. (in their defense, I always forget about them.) But like any great man, that's not going to stop me from aging. So AGE I DID. But instead of this boring talk about how I'm so gawd damn 1million years old (physically), let's talk about talking...
Step 1. ART FUCKING CHALLENGE
Really, if you haven't seen this yet, Feast your eyes on the most Amazing page on the internet right now. This Art Challenge is through the roof! I'm not even just talking about Me and that Other guy. There's a bunch of other guys that are just as amazing. I'm really happy for the attention it's been getting, and I want to show a lot of love to these artists of Giantbomb (YOu guYS mahnnn! I LOve YOU jUYS!! *hic*).
I pick no favorites.. but there is many days to go. FORWARD
Step 2. GAY PIRATE RAGES AWN (OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ)
ADVENTURE!!
From our last adventure, my frivolous animosity towards FFXIV was holding no boundary except for the ones I was given. I complained left and right about everything, but has since become a passing phase, and have now found tolerable comfort in (what would feel like to most as) absolutely nothing. Jobs like Mining and armoring. Are set up as weird ass Mini-games that don't make a lick of sense. Yet, I have found Mining to be beyond easy, as a job class to level up, and have practically taken it up as my new main. Well.. it would be my new main if it wasn't for the fact that I remembered I can FIGHT stuff in this game. I have since taken the liberty to leveling up my Gladiator rank to 10 ( you know.. just so I can do more quests.)
ADVENTURE!!!
I haven't still fully understood how, why, and where to acquire equipment. I'm strictly under the impression I should just make my own. The user market is retardedly over priced (honestly, no one is going to pay 20,000 gil for a starter level scarf when you can barely make enough money in the first place.) and I only really seem to be earning equipment off of quests, save for a decent pair of tights I managed to find for a low price of 2,500 gil. (They're soooo comfortable.) The combat is just as deceiving as it used to be in XI. Instead of checking to see how strong an enemy is, they're represented by a colorful symbol by their name. Red and pointy means hard and blue is terribly easy to kill. When it's around green that usually means it's a decent challenge. But sometimes enemies just happen to have stronger hits or hidden agendas, and if you're not too careful you'll find yourself constantly DYING. Luckily You do not loose XP from dying, but you are weakened 'HP wise' for a small amount of time. Which is a good way to go, I think.
Step 3: SYMPH THIS IS FOR YOU.
Guys, did you know Symphony has cancer? Neither did I! (OMG AM I JOKING?!?! If I am this is tasteless and offensive! ) Needless to say I wanted to make her this nice card to make her feel better about her cancer. She has to know, that she'll always be in my heart even though she plays WoW and I play XIV! It's like a Romeo and Juliet story in the making.
STEP 4: ALPHA PROTOLOL
I just wanted to say, that I got that for my Birthday, aaaand I really like it so far. So that's the end of that chapter.
STEP 5: THE END
I didn't exactly think of a good way to end this one, so I'll just end it with a quote from a really good song:
“Let me go on, Like a blister in the sun. Let me go on, Big hands I know you're the one”
[WORD TO THE WISE: Essentially, I'm rambling and ranting. Join me won't you? maybe I'm not as coherent as I think I am...]
HAY SAILORS!
So... Let's talk Final Fantasy XIV. Terrible Horrible, Final Fantasy XIV. This statement is both true and false. Yes it's Terrible Horrible. BUT NO, because I really want to like it. Let's get all the obvious pros that I can think of out of the way first.
It sure is purdy.
Pervy Smile.. Okay, now that all that is out of the way. I have a pretty big beef with this game. There's a lot missing from this game to make it enjoyable. Again, obvious things out of the way. No hot keys, movement is jank, it doesn't tell you anything, (how to do this, what to do about this, well... what about this thing? Etc...) leavequests are all wtf. Where's any story at? How do I guild? Blah blah blah.
Basically, this Beta so far is pretty much a gong show.
I've had the joy of playing this game with Symphony and Ossi, and a little bit of Xeiphyer. If you ask any of us we would probably all agree on why this game sucks so much. This games biggest problem is that It's completely bare as an MMO. If you've played lots of different MMOs for many many years. Anything you could think of that you like about that particular game isn't in this one. A lot of things about XI that make tolerable let alone it's later improvements don't even show up for this sad excuse of “We totally know what we're doing here, because we're SquareEnix.”
As Ossi once said (probably)“It's like they've never made an MMO before. Or even, like they think they're the only ones that make video games...”
“But Bonbolapti, They totally made FFXI and that's perfectly ok... for what it is... I guess...” Well yeah, but tell SE that. Hell even XII was probably an improvement on some XI game mechanics. But there's no excuse for how, impersonal/disjointed/needless XIV is. You look at it and think why is THIS in beta? Nothing is streamlined, everything requires 3 to 7 clicks to do. Job classes are attached to items you hold and it's hotkey bar resets every time you switch. Where are my items? How much can I hold? Oh god I've going to go off on another tangent again.
When I first started playing, I had a serious problem with using both keyboard and mouse. So then I resorted to just using the keyboard. That was well and fine, but I still had problems with it. But then Symphony was all “Use the controller, loserface!” AND THAT was the exact moment I started complaining less. Granted this game is also for the PS3 (6 months later), but that's just it. This game way definitely made with the gamepad in mind. All of my issues with navigating for some reason flew out the window. Sure it's still a bit of a nuisance, but all the more tolerable.
Just a couple of WILD AND CRAZY GUISE!! Then the issue of what you're going to be spending a lot of your time doing came up. Are you just going to want to be one class always and forever? Or are you going to experiment with everything you want to experiment with? With Sque's weird idea of less and less XP over time. The experience of just doing one thing always and forever does not look very promising at all. And yes, that sucks. But I found myself doing anything and everything. Keep in mind, that I really didn't like it at first. But there's not enough going on in the starting town I was in, to have everything done for me. I would adventure out, kill a bunch of things. Want better gear, go out and mine for materials, pound them into shape, equipment is breaking. Chop some wood, repair some tools. Every one of those things requires a different job. Interesting idea to some, but the whole idea behind it would not interest the hardcores/hardcorians. (it was a compelling debate, and for the life of me I can't remember most of it.) But after spending a day trying everything out, I was not bothered at all. Essentially it was letting me wander around more, and try different things, and collect different materials and try to make this, and repair that. All this stuff that was interesting to me, but yes, it's wrong that SE wants to limit it in such a weird way.
Um.. what else was I going to talk about. Oh yeah, in terms building stuff. I really hate how it doesn't let you know what you can do. Yes, the game in general never really holds your hand (see: steep learning curve) but after doing a guildleave for the armorers guild and it tells me “CONGRATULATIONS! You learned how to make something!”, and I'm all. “OKAY, SO where is it?” And the game is all “OH We're only going to tell you in the chat box! Try to remember what it is, okay?”
Whatthefuckyhell? You can't archive something? How come I don't get to have any in depth knowledge of any of these lesser job classes? I really don't want to resort to opening up a guide and making me feel like an idiot! FINE, I'll write this stuff down, okay I need Bronze rings and Sheets of Bronze chain. Sweet, Bronze rings! I can just buy those. BUT HOW DO I MAKE BRONZE CHAINS!?!? OMG PANIC. WHERE IS A GUIDE?!
I dunno, I do feel rather immature and nitpicky with the fact that this game is just so different than what I want in an MMO. It breaks my heart to see what they've done with this game, and as I said in the beginning, I really want to like it. Slowly and surely, I'm becoming less stubborn about it. (with everyone else I've been playing it with, liking it less the more THEY play. But maybe this is because I am an idiot? I'll have to check and get back to you. I mean, I'm not exactly a fan of most MMOs in general.)
But there's a lot more time left to play this open beta, and I'm going to trek through it as best I can, to continue to learn things and/or put up with it.
In the meantime, here's a beautiful wallpaper of my character that I want you all to have. (KAWAITAMINUTE...)
"Well, if you haven't seen it yet, what's wrong with you?"
There is amazing thread That Ossi and I have been rocking for 11 days so far, and it's been going delightfully. I'm surprised/happy with the turn up of various other artists popping up and joining the fray. I never thought that would happen at first. I was honestly thinking it would just be me and Ossi indulging ourselves and publicly displaying it to the crowd for no other reason than "We are doing this, and you get to watch!"
But I honestly just want to tell you guys how much I love you. The more I draw the more it helps me be creative, and the more others participate, it lets me know that this was such a cool idea. Therefore I should lead myself to believe that all of my ideas are cool and good. Eventually we'll role out the A material.
Speaking of that, there's a bit of a podcasting experiment that I've been kind of doing with some peeps. We've only done one, but it's 0 and won't be released. If you think about it though, our mantra behind that whole thing, as far as I know, is that we're just going to fuck around with it all the time.
Sweep recently made a blog, about "why we blog..." Frankly, I would never want to understand the science behind it. As an artist and a writer, I've learned that it's better to do things for yourself than to deliberately entertain people. So I guess, that's something to keep in mind? (oh ho ho.)
September is my favorite time of the month, because I like how it sounds. Also, for me, it's the start to a good season of gaming. Two things I'm absolutely Excited for is Front Mission Evolved and Vanquish. Fun Fact: I'm big on the Front Mission Series, but I also get why a lot of people would whine and complain about Evolved, Because it's not what Front Mission is at all. True. But I always look at that stuff as the rest of the world complaining that Japan never changes their games up. Every sequel is the same thing over and over again. So Evolved to me is them trying something new, especially since the Franchise doesn't really do so well. (in amurica.) Well I'm absolutely open to this, because it'll be like finally getting my hands on Front Mission Online(even though it'll probably be nothing like that.). Generally excited to see what this game will bring, and Honestly... if I need my classic FM fix, I have more than enough of those games to fill my needs. ( HAS ANYONE PLAYED FRONT MISSION 5? OH LAWDY!)
I will also go on the record for Vanquish in saying: "My Excitement for this game is really just because I love anything Shinji Mikami Does or is involved in any way! ( although P.N.03 was kind of boring.) Now if you excuse me, I'll probably play the demo 3 or 4 more times.
SO LET'S RECAP
The Art off is amazing and if you're capable of drawing but haven't done so yet, what the fuck is wrong with you.
Man... Podcasting? really?
Sweep Wrote a blog.
Bon is excited for FME and VANQUISH!!!!!
Now I'm going to run along, I have other things to write about in other places. Stay Classy.
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I spent the morning Playing Pixel Junk's SHOOTER, and McGavin let me tell youu... It's actually super fun. and a fair enough challenge. Mainly in the fact that I feel like this TV in this apartment is far too big. Everything in this game is tiny, and I have a hard time paying attention to everything. Namely I don't pay attention to my ship and everything else. So I shoot people, or get shot. So maybe I should just do everything at a shorter range. Instead of being really awesome at taking care of business from one end of the map to the other.
So I gotta finish that up, shouldn't take to long. Then I can be just as stoked for Shooter 2.
Ossi101 and I, talk on occasion about the concept of art. I and He, we draw you see.
I have once issued a challenge to him that we should do something everyday. But I haven't exactly figured it out yet. I'm thinking along the lines of everyday we should draw one video game character in our own style. AND KEEP AT THIS, DRAWING A PICTURE ONCE A DAY!
What do you think? classy good times? If anything here's some more crap I draw that I am too lazy to scan (jokes on me)
Scott Pilgrim is a horrid stupid game. (but only when you're playing it by yourself)
The Visual Style of Paul Robertson is half the reason you're buying this in the first place. But His staple of what makes him so awesome doesn't show up till you get closer to the end of the game.
I suppose I can't really harp on it, because I want to like this game. I have a thing for brawlers, but I've played enough in my life time that this just doesn't even compare. I'm sure though, if I was ever asked if I should recommend this game, I would be teetering on the pros and cons so much. So how about this "If you understand me when I say "mecha fetus" then pick it up, but then also make sure you have friends to play this with.
I've had the Starcraft II trial and only played it for 10 minutes. guess it's not for me.
Minecraft is just a confusing experience, but I've built two building and a beach. Before I knew it, it was 4:30 am. FUCK.
Any other game playing I'm going to have for the next couple of weeks or so, is going to be completely accidental. I have to worry about having a career right now. So I'm going to be kicking my ass about it. So I'm probably done blogging right now.
and before I go, here's a super short, ridiculous video of Anime Evolution over the weekend. In it's defense, I only like the middle part about the virtual boy.
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